Winners and losers

Coach Sly's quick-hit winners and losers when it came to Saturday night's playoff draws for local football teams.

Winners

Aurora Central Catholic. Whenever you draw a CPL team in the football playoffs, it's generally a good thing.

Now every so often a Chicago team rises up and proves the exception to the rule, but Sly will play those percentages, thank you very much.

Batavia. There is a major difference between 6A and 7A, and Batavia was the last school in 6A. 'Nuff said.

The Barbs aren't going to be much of a threat in the first round, and whoever awaits in Round 2 will be in deep trouble against B-Town, as well. The Bulldogs deserve to be thought of as one of the state favorites in 6A.

Geneva. Getting a first-round home game is a nice luxury for a 7-2 team. St. Patrick is a pretty tough first-round opponent (just ask Joliet Catholic), but Geneva has a fighting chance and got a fair draw. Potential Round 2 foe Schaumburg also wouldn't be unbeatable.

Marmion. That late-season loss to ACC didn't hurt Marmion's seeding as bad as you'd have though. Sly loves Marmion's chances in its first-round home game against Fenton, then you roll the dice in a potential second-round game vs. Lakes (soft schedule) or Prairie Ridge (dangerous, but down from recent past).

St. Francis. If you're a 5-4 team and you know you're going against a 9-0 team, Glenbard South is the matchup you want.

The Raiders are having a great season and won't be easy to beat, but Glenbard South has played a very, very weak schedule and will be feeling the pressure of avoiding a Round 1 upset to a local foe.

Losers

Aurora Christian. Aurora Christian's chances have more to do with getting healthy than whoever the opponent was going to be (IC Catholic), but in the past, the Eagles have benefited from playing out-of-the-area teams who are wide-eyed by the Eagles' wide-open style of play.

Not so this year.

Kaneland. Hampshire in the opener is fine, but for a team of Kaneland's caliber to have to play a beast like Joliet Catholic just to make it out of Round 2 (on the road, no less) is a tough deal, probably the worst shake of any of the local teams. Knights are capable of rising above it, though.

St. Charles East. Round 1 opponent Stevenson has been on a rampage after starting out 0-2. St. Charles East in Class 8A, Schaumburg in 7A? Something just seems off about that.